Letters to the editor: Supervisor race; water restrictions; A & B; DA and sheriff races

Perez has the experience

We support Bernardo Perez for Fourth District County Supervisor because of his experience as a local and regional leader working collaboratively to produce results. Bernardo served on the Moorpark City Council for 12 years, including a term as Mayor, and is currently the Fourth District elected representative on the VC Community College District Board of Trustees. He was elected to the Community College League of California Trustee Board and serves on the Adventist Health Simi Valley Hospital Foundation, High Street Arts Center, Moorpark Morning Rotary Club, Knights of Columbus Council 9969, and many other local and regional nonprofit organizations.

I met Bernardo when I worked for then-Fourth District County Supervisor Ted Grandsen in the 1970s, when Moorpark was not yet a city but was being discovered as a great place to live and raise a family. Bernardo was part of a grassroots movement our office facilitated to guide the future of Moorpark in both economic and community development. After the city’s incorporation in 1983 and Bernardo’s election to City Council, Bernardo was in the unique position to guide the city in its development with the qualities of life identified during the grass-roots community planning activities.

Later, I worked with Bernardo again when he was a Project Manager with the Cabrillo Economic Development Corporation and I was a Project Manager for the Oxnard Redevelopment Agency. We worked together on two Affordable Housing developments for working families, including First Time Homebuyers (2004) and farmworkers (2007) in Oxnard’s Downtown.

Bernardo’s priority will always be to protect, preserve, and improve the quality of life for all Ventura County residents. He is a leader in building consensus and focusing on those “issues with a human face.” Please join us in supporting Bernardo Perez for the Fourth District County Supervisor.

Maureen Hooper-Birkelo, Moorpark

Water restrictions are unclear

Re: your May 12 story, “Simi Valley limits outdoor watering to once a week”:

No one seems to know what the final word is on water restrictions in Simi Valley. Our City Council says we can water one day a week. I have also read that trees can be hand watered. Los Angeles County is allowing drip irrigation to food sources. Can I hand water my fruit trees in Simi Valley? Can I use drip irrigation for my vegetables and herbs? Can I hand water those? If I completely stop watering my lawns, can I use the water I save to keep food sources alive? Is the size of the property considered in water allowances? Is someone on an acre of land limited to the same total use as a 7,000-sqaure-foot lot or a condominium?

We need a much more comprehensive plan to address the severe drought we are facing. Maintaining the tree canopy is crucial in the effort to control climate change. This is a complicated issue that needs a well-reasoned response. Most importantly we need to understand that trees must be kept alive, artificial turf is heat producing and therefore detrimental, swimming pools must be covered, and rainwater must be captured in every way possible. The city councils have had years to research approaches to our water shortages. We need more than an unreflective kneejerk response. We need people who understand the issue and have critical thinking skills.

Stephanie McIntyre, Simi Valley

Law enforcement backs Barrick

Recently, law enforcement agencies around the country observed National Crime Victims Rights Week.

I recently learned that, during a week when we raise awareness about victims’ rights, protections, and services, our appointed district attorney Erik Nasarenko, who has never been elected by the citizens of Ventura County, attended a party being put on in his honor by a prominent local criminal defense attorney with numerous other local criminal defense attorneys in attendance. I was appalled.

How could he claim to stand for crime victims while criminal defense attorneys are throwing him parties?

I looked at his campaign financial records and saw that Mr. Nasarenko has thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from criminal defense attorney. How can he say he supports crime victims when he is supported by people who represent the criminals who created those victims in the first place?

Mr. Nasarenko’s opponent John Barrick has been endorsed by the Oxnard Police Officers Association, the Port Hueneme Police Officers Association, the Santa Paula Police Officers Association, the Simi Valley Police Officers Association, and even the Ventura Police Officers Association, where Mr. Nasarenko previously served as a city councilman. John Barrick has also been endorsed by the Peace Officers Association of California, the State Coalition of Probation Organizations, and the California Statewide Law Enforcement Association. Finally, he has also been endorsed by the National Latino Peace Officers Association.

So, John Barrick has the support of the people who are fighting for crime victims while Mr. Nasarenko has the backing of the guys who want to keep criminals out of jail. That should make everyone say, “Hmmm…”

When I vote for District Attorney, I’ll be voting for the person supported by law enforcement, not the person supported by criminal defense attorneys. I encourage everyone to vote for John Barrick.

Joe Piechowski, Simi Valley

A & B will let politicians decide

Ventura County voters will make a very important choice on June 7. They will be choosing whether to inject politics into a county process currently handled by scientists and policy experts.

Depending on which campaign you ask, Measures A and B are either about protecting drinking water or reducing dependence on foreign oil. While these are creative ways for the support and oppose campaigns to get their voters motivated, the actual policy change deals with neither of these issues directly.

Measures A & B are a voter referendum on a change to the way energy permits are approved in Ventura County. Currently, Ventura County staff (aka scientists and policy experts) make the determination as to whether an oil or gas permit meets the requirements of our county, including environmental rules. A no vote keeps it that way.

A yes vote on Measures A & B will change this process and require these permits to instead be approved by a vote of the Ventura County Board of Supervisors. That means decisions currently left in the hands of experts will instead be handled by politicians. This means a permit that otherwise meets all of the environmental requirements could be denied for purely political reasons.

The Greater Conejo Valley Chamber of Commerce urges you to vote no on Measures A&B. Not because of clean water or foreign oil, but because you believe in trusting science rather than politics.

Danielle Borja, MBA, President/CEO, Greater Conejo Valley Chamber of Commerce

Elect Fryhoff for Sheriff

In those dark days in our recent past, Ventura county and most jurisdictions within the county passed ordinances that required citizens to wear masks when in close contact with others. In spite of the fact that noncompliant anti-maskers were infecting others who had no choice but to congregate at supermarkets and other locations where requirements for day-to-day living were available, Sheriff Ayub, emulating Los Angeles’ Alejandro Villanueva, stated to the press that his officers would not be enforcing these directives.

Police officials, elected or otherwise, are not entitled to cherry-pick the laws they enforce unless the electorate (us) decides that it is OK. It is not OK. Sheriff Ayub has to go. Elect Jim Fryhoff for Sheriff of Ventura County.

Bob Merrilees, Camarillo

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Letters: Supervisor race; water restrictions; A & B; DA, sheriff races